Everyone's A Little Mad Here
by Amaya Leigh
Summary: Anastasia Maria, better known as Anya, has been in Wonderland her whole life. When Alice Hamilton shows up at the tea shop and all three are thrown into a crazy battle, will Anya's chances with Hatter be ruined?
1. And So It Begins

**Yup! I'm back with a new fandom! Oh how I love Hatter...Yeah, somehow it's easier for me to write when I add in an OC..but I hope you guys like it anyway =] I have chapter two written as well, so hurry up and review so I can upload it! I promise it will be shorter than this one!!  
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And So It Begins.

Wonderland. The most amazing thing I have ever known. I found my way here when I was only 6 years old and have lived here ever since. I don't really remember how it happened. One minute I was

chasing this butterfly into an old warehouse, and the next thing I knew I was in Wonderland. Every once in a while I would think of what my parents had thought when they found out I had 'gone

missing'. They had always argued a lot, so I imagined they thought I left because of it. This isn't true. There is a way out of Wonderland, but something in me never wanted to leave. Wonderland was

my home now. My curious and bright green eyes softened as I grew older, but they never lost their wonder and imagination. I am eighteen now, and I have learned a thing or two about Wonderland.

Oysters, or people from my world, don't escape. In this world, they're easily tricked; a few mind games, a spray of chemicals, and the Queen's thriving economy worked smoothly. I hopped out of bed

that morning, threw open the curtains and said hello to my Wonderland. I slipped my black silk ribbon out from the drawer of my dresser and held it in my mouth while I pulled my long blonde hair into a

ponytail. I danced towards my closet to a song in my head and got dressed for work. Today I decided to wear simple black skinny jeans and a dark green tang top. My shoes were old and black and

loved to cause me to slip on things, but they were comfortable. I closed the door to my 'apartment', still dancing to the song in my head and climbed down the ladder. Why Wonderland was built in the

air, I have no idea, but you get used to it. I walk down the street, I guess you could call it, and make my way over to the Tea Shop. Immediately when I walk in, I hear numbers being yelled out and

people shouting at other people. I rolled my eyes, they never stop. I make my way back to my boss' office and shrug off my jacket, hanging it in the clear wardrobe behind his desk. My job in this place

mostly consisted of cleaning up, helping to write down numbers, and occasionally taking over for Dormouse.

"Off the grass." I closed the wardrobe and turned around.

"It'd sure be hard to hang up my coat without stepping on your precious grass." My boss was standing there, in his tan jacket, dark shirt, black tie, dark pants, and hat that matched his jacket. I walked

past him, pulling his hat off his head and stood a few feet behind him. I stuck the hat on my head and smiled. My boss was a tea-drinking fool and an expert of playing both sides of this field.

"You're here late. Usually you get here before me." He turned around to look at me with a smile on his face.

"I slept in."

"Ohhhh...so _you_ get to sleep in, but _me_, no I have to be here on time, don't I, Hatter?" I crossed my arms and looked at him as he walked over to me and took his hat from my head. He bent over just

slightly so his face was near mine, his brown eyes staring straight into my green ones. He was five six, and I only happened to be one half inch shorter than him, but he loved to make fun of even that

by 'bending down to my level' whenever he could.

"Get to work, Anya." He turned away from me and I stuck my tongue out at him. I turned, opened the door, and smiled to myself as I closed it behind me. I was back to all the shouting out numbers

and arguing. I shook my head. _Because this isn't aggravating at all._ Basically, on days like these, I took over for Dormouse. So I sat in my chair and whenever a new type of tea would come out, I got to

yell at the people in the shop to shut up while I told them which 'feeling' had just come out. It was getting close to noon and I walked back into Hatter's office to get my coat.

"I'm going on my break." I looked at the back of Hatter's chair as I flipped my hair out of the back of my jacket and saw him wave his hand. I was closing the door to the wardrobe when he spoke.

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No, thank you. Uhm...who are you?" I turned around to see a girl standing with Ratty. She had long dark brown hair and was wearing a blue dress, red leggings, and boots. There was a dirty red

bandana tied around her right forearm and she was soaking wet. Hatter had spun his chair around as soon as the girl finished her question.

"A friend, I hope. I run the tea shop." Ratty had begun to untie the red bandana on the girls arm, revealing a green mark. _She's an oyster…_ It was completely easy to tell, her skin was pearl-white, and

all her emotions were played out on her face, not to mention the big green mark that proved it all.

"How'd you break out of Scarab?" Hatter asked, walking to stand by his desk, looking at me.

"What the beetle thing?" I laughed.

"Yes, the _beetle thing_." The girl looked over at me and I raised my eyebrows like I hadn't said anything.

"Well, I used my hairpin and-"

"Fell." Hatter said, leaning against the edge of his desk, looking at Ratty and the girl. I stood next to him, my arms crossed.

"As you can see I'm drenched." I saw Hatter nod, and knew his eyes were going up and down with his head. I smacked him upside the head, causing his hat to fall off. He glared at me, and I right back

at him. This girl must be strong, I had never heard of anyone swimming from the middle of the sea.

"Look, this place, where, what is it?"

"Oh, Wonderland." Hatter said, pointing upwards. The girl looked at him like he was crazy.

"That's a story in a kid's book."

"Does this look like a kid's story to you?" I said. The girl looked at me.

"No."

"It's changed a lot since then." Hatter said, looking at me.

"What, so you're saying it's real?" The girl said, looking back at Hatter.

"You oysters don't know how to find us, so you tell yourself that we don't exist and frankly, we'd like to keep it that way." I said, glaring at her. For some reason, I didn't like her.

"Anya, hush." I rolled my eyes. Hatter grabbed his magnifying glass off his desk and walked to the girl.

"Excuse me." He picked up her arm and 'inspected' the green mark.

"Why am I an oyster?" She asked, motioning to the mark. "This?"

"That's not going to come off." Hatter said with a grin on his face. "Sorry." I walked up to them and looked at her arm as well.

"Only people from your world turn green when burned by the light. It's the suits way of branding their catch." Hatter took the magnifying glass and put it in the back pocket of my skinny jeans.

"Really?" I said, looking up at him. He just smiled at me.

"Anya here is from your world." The girl looked at me, and I looked anywhere else but at her. "But when she came here, the suits hadn't discovered the shiny little pearls inside your kind. So, she's

technically one of us, a Wonderlander. Oh, that's why they call you oysters, the little pearls."

"What do you mean pearls?" I took the magnifying glass out of my pocket, snatched Hatter's hat, and walked back to the desk, feeling his glare on my back.

"Yeah, she's Alice. Tell him who you are." Ratty said, interrupting us, and pointing at the girl with a disgusting hand. I put the glass down on the desk and walked back over to them.

"Wow, really." Hatter circled the girl, Alice, laughing, stood next to Ratty, and wrapped an arm around him. I almost gagged, that thing was probably covered in flees. "Ratty here, thinks your Alice, of

legend." I laughed out loud at that one, and all three of them looked at me. I smiled at them.

"Who?"

"Oh my word." I sighed and shook my head. "The last time a girl, called Alice, came here from your world; she brought down the whole house of cards, yeah, made quite an impression. Although it was

a hundred and fifty years ago." I looked to Ratty and Hatter. "It can't be the same girl; oysters don't even live that long."

"I still want a good price." Ratty said.

"Wait a minute, I am not for sale!" I laughed at her again. This oyster had a few things to learn about Wonderland.

"Anya, go get me one of those bottles on the shelf." Hatter said, pointing. I tilted my head slightly and looked at him.

"Do I look like a maid to you?" I was joking around, of course. How else was I supposed to make this whole thing more entertaining for me. Apparently, Hatter hadn't found it funny because he raised

his eyebrows at me and the look in his eyes told me that if I didn't do what he said that sledgehammer of his would be in my face. Violent man..So, I walked over to the shelf he had pointed at.

"Which one?"

"Pick one." I grabbed the one with blue liquid in it, turned and held it up. Hatter looked at the bottle, to Ratty, and back and shook his head. I put the bottle back and grabbed the one with pink liquid.

Turning again, Hatter nodded at me and I tossed the bottle across the room to him. He caught it in one hand and turned back to Ratty."Here we are. Pink nectar. Filled with the thrill of human

excitement. Fifty oysters were drained of every last drop of hullabaloo so that you, Ratty, can taste what it feels like to win just once." Ratty started to reach for the bottle but Hatter pulled it away

slightly. Alice and I watched it all, me with a bored expression on my face and a confused one on hers.

"Warning. Don't take it on an empty stomach and only one tiny little drop at a time otherwise the experience might _burst _your shriveled up little heart. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good, go." Ratty eagerly grabbed the bottle and scurried out of the room. I choked as his scent left the room.

"He really smells." I said and Hatter nodded, agreeing with me.

"Oysters were drained, what do you mean drained?" Hatter and I looked at each other. He didn't know what to say, so it looked like I would have to step in…again.

"Ratty tells us you're looking for someone." I took Alice gently by the arm and made her sit down on the couch.

"His name is Jack Chase. He was taken by a man with a white rabbit on his lapel."

"I see. Anya, tea." I walked over, poured some tea in Hatter's cup and shoved it at him as he sat down. "The White Rabbit is an organization controlled by the suits. They travel back and forth through

the Looking Glass and…vanish people from your world to ours."

"Why?"

"To use, in the casino." I glared at Hatter.

"Shush!"

"Use?" Hatter choked on his tea.

"Did I say use? I…Slip of the tongue, they're fine."

"Nice save…" I mumbled.

"They keep them alive and moderately happy." I chuckled and Hatter flicked me. Alice's eyes kept flickering from me to Hatter, I could see in them that she wasn't sure if we were telling the truth or

lying.

"How do I get to this casino?" Alice asked, standing up and taking a step closer to Hatter and me.

"That's the thing." I said. "You don't. It's way too dangerous, especially for an oyster like you. They'll catch you and stick you in the game room with everyone else."

"But…" Hatter said, setting his cup on the desk. "I know some people, who…" He stands up and walks towards Alice. "Know some…well, other people. If you know what I mean. It's one of the privileges

of…" He leaned closer to her. "Running a tea shop." He popped the 'p' in shop, which made Alice jump and me smile. "Lighten up." Hatter said, smiling at her. He turned to look and me and pointed to

the wardrobe. I rolled my eyes, knowing what he was getting at. I walked to the wardrobe; all the other coats in there were men's. _Why am I the only girl that works here again?_ So, I ended up pulling

my jacket out and handing it to Hatter.

"You should wear this. It'll cover the glow and stop you from catching a cold." He said, holding my jacket in his hands. I stood back, leaning against Hatter's desk like he did.

"I have a little money, but I understand you don't use that here." Alice said, looking at him.

"Pieces of paper…pointless." He walked around Alice and held the jacket up slightly so she could put her arms in.

"Then why would you help me?" She asked. Hatter smirked behind her.

"Do I need a reason to help a pretty girl in a very wet dress?" Alice spun around to look at him. I couldn't see the look on her face, but apparently it made Hatter mad. "Oh, I see, you don't trust me.

Fine." He slammed my jacket down onto the couch. "I am genuinely hurt. Do you know why they call me Hatter."

"Cause you wear a hat!" I called from my position on the desk. Hatter glared at me.

"No. Shut up, Anya." I smiled innocently at him as he looked back at Alice. "It's because I'm always there when they pass the hat…so to speak. Philanthropy." He pointed at Alice and walked away from

her. "Generosity. I mean, call it what you will it's who I am." He leaned on the back of his chair and I turned slightly to look at him, crossing one leg over the other. "And right now, looking at you there,

there's nothing I want more than to help you find…" He paused.

"Jack." I said. He nodded.

"Jack. And return you both to your charming world of children stories."

"I don't believe you." Alice said, a tiny smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"I know what you're thinking." I said, tilting my head. "If we're the frying pan, than that out there," I waved my hand at one of the windows. "Is the fire. I'll be square with you, Hatter knows people

who like to help your kind. And if every once in a while he scratches their back…"

"They'll scratch yours." Alice said, finally catching on.

"Precisely. Lot of scratching." They stood there, looking at each other, until Alice finally moved to put my jacket on. Hatter turned around, this look on his face that showed he felt a sense of

accomplishment.

"Do try and keep up." He said, opening the door behind his desk. Alice and I both looked over to see him standing there, holding the door open and staring into space. Alice hesitated for a minute,

looking around, and probably debating on whether she can really trust Hatter or not. She finally walked over to the door and out. I sat there on Hatter's desk, staring at the ground, until he came over

to me.

"Aren't you coming, Anya?" I looked at him standing next to me.

"Do you want me to come?" He nodded.

"If I leave you here, who knows what you'll do." He turned around and headed back to the door. "I'd probably come back and the whole place will be burned down." I smiled, grabbed a jacket from the

wardrobe, and followed Hatter out the door. Hatter realized his hat wasn't on his head and he looked around the room for it. I walked past him, an innocent look on my face. His eyes looked up and

watched the hat pass him. He snatched it back from me and hugged it before flipping it back onto his head.


	2. The Great Library

**Okay...so, I lied _ I don't think this one is shorter at all, and I apologize for that! I just couldn't help myself...I deleted the part about Scarab getting to the Casino and Agent White bringing the Red King the ring..so I guess it made it a little shorter?...I don't know, but review please :3

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**I jumped in front of Hatter and Alice and was the first one down the ladder. I turned around to see Hatter jump the last few rungs behind me, and I walked forward a couple steps to give him and Alice

room. When I glanced back, I saw Hatter reach up to hold Alice's waist and help her jump down. Once she was down, she looked up at him.

"Thank you." He didn't reply, only readjusted his jacket. He turned around and that's when Alice decided to look down. Fear filled her eyes where suspicion and curiosity used to be; she clung to the

ladder for dear life. I looked over the edge. Sure, it was a long drop, but if you live here long enough, you tend to watch where you're going.

"Would you go help her?" I said to Hatter, pointing to Alice, he turned to look at her and walked back over.

"What's the matter?"

"I got a thing about heights." She said. Figures. "Why couldn't you guys build the city on the ground?" It wasn't really a question, but I still fought the urge to give some sarcastic answer.

"Look at me." Hatter said to her, an almost scary intense look in his eye. She closed her eyes, her hand turning white against the black of the ladder. "Alice." Once he said her name, he held his hand

out to her, and her eyes opened. She slowly released the ladder and put her hand in his. _This is taking forever... _I knew this intense look he was giving her. He had given it to me many times before in

order to get me to do something. Then again, he would only have to look at me when he asked for me to immediately say yes. That was a habit I was ashamed of having. Once I fell for someone, I did

not try and climb back up. Something sparked in me when I saw Hatter lead Alice toward me. Something I thought for sure was jealousy. Had Hatter slipped it into a drink of mine? I had never felt this

before; there had been no one in Wonderland to challenge me. I thought that maybe Hatter would possibly fall for me...but then _she_ showed up. I felt my eyes narrow, and I glared at her. I sighed and

relaxed my face. There may be nothing I could do, but then again, there was no one here to tell me not to try; and try I would.

Hatter made me knock. Why...perhaps he was lazy. Or Alice was still freaking out about the height. A small part in the door slid open.

"How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail." Shit. I had forgotten the response to this. Hatter had usually done it, and I never paid attention to him when he did. I turned to look at him; he

was trying to calm Alice down. I rolled my eyes, kicked a rock into my hand from the ground, and threw it at his head. It bounced off his hat and he whirled around to glare at me. I shrugged and jabbed

my thumb at the door.

"Crocodile, Anastasia. Crocodile."

"Oh!" I totally knew that. "And pours water of the Nile on every golden scale." The little window cover of the door slid closed and I smiled triumphantly to myself. The door opened to reveal a bus, but

one that didn't go forward. I hopped in and greeted the old man who ran the bus. For the life of me, I could not remember his name. Hatter hopped on the train behind me, Alice hesitated.

"Hello, Duck." Yeah, that's his name. I looked behind Hatter at Alice, a smug look on my face. I maneuvered around him and pulled her onto the bus.

"Welcome to Wonderland, love." I sat down on one of the seats, Alice standing behind me. Hatter stood in between two poles, one hand on each, bracing himself. He neglected to warn Alice about the

shakiness of the bus, so when it begun to move she fell onto the seat across from me.

"Sorry." Hatter said. Alice looked at him and I looked up in time to see the Great Library come into view behind her head. The bus stopped and Alice made to stand up.

"Wait." I said, holding my hand for her to stop moving. She did, and the bus dropped a little. "Okay, it's good." I stood up and twirled past Hatter to the door. I was in an odd, cheery mood. I wasn't

sure where it had come from, but it was gone once I actually looked out the door and came face to face with a shotgun aimed at my nose. Hatter and Alice had frozen behind me.

"Really!?" I hated having guns pointed at me. I crossed my arms across my chest and walked off the bus, followed by Alice and Hatter, both with their hands up. I looked at Hatter with a why-the-

hell-are-your-hands-up look on my face and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Why don't we just put these things away? C'mon, you know Anya and me well enough." Hatter said, looking straight at Duck.

"We have our orders." They lead the three of us to the small balcony just beyond the bus.

"But keep that right hand where we can see it." Hatter turned, flexing the muscles in his right hand. I looked at the fragile woman holding the shotgun. I had forgotten her name as well. Hatter's eyes

were slightly wide, and showed he was annoyed.

"It's just flesh and blood."

"Right." Said the woman. "We've all seen what you can do with that sledgehammer." She pointed with the gun at his hand. I started laughing, and had to cover my mouth with my hand in attempt to

control myself. Hatter kicked me in the shin, which only caused me to laugh harder. Alice gave us both a confused look. I smiled at her.

"Did you like the box of confect I brought you guys last week?" The two looked confused. "The cured meats and the cheese." They hesitated, like they didn't know what he was talking about. I knew.

Hatter had made me carry the bloody box all the way here.

"Well...they're all gone..." Hatter smiled smugly.

"Well, if you don't treat me with a little respect, you won't get another crumb."

"Okay. Sorry to interrupt, but this is getting annoying. We're just here to see Dodo." I grabbed the shotgun and leaned it upwards on my shoulder. I nudged my head for Hatter and Alice to follow me.

"Sorry, Hatter...everyone's a little jumpy..."

"Everyone's always a little jumpy." With his hand on her back, Hatter led Alice behind me, her hands still up slightly.

"Where are we?" Alice asked.

"The Great Library. There's 5000 years of history hidden here. Art, literature, lore; rescued when the Queen of Hearts seized power."

"She'd like nothing more than to see this place burnt to nothing." I added, my hand tightening on the gun. Alice stopped and stared down at the refugees who lay among the books. Hatter walked up

beside her and leaned on the railing, his fingers intertwining.

"Refugees." He said. "Those who don't want to be a part of the Queen's instant world of gratification. We give them shelter and try to feed them the best we can, but..." He paused. "It is dangerous. If

the Queen found out they wouldn't stand a chance." I looked down at the refugees as well, and my heart twisted. Alone, I couldn't do anything to help them; and it was in my nature to help anyone

and everyone I could. That's one reason why I stayed with Hatter, to help these people.

"Why would she want to destroy all of this?" Alice asked, her face sad and scared for the people she saw below her.

"Wisdom is the biggest threat. She controls people with a quick fix." Hatter's voice had changed. It was calmer, and worried than usual. I sighed. We had to get moving, it wouldn't be long before the

Queen found out about Alice being here. I walked over to them.

"C'mon you guys! You're gunna make me depressed!" I twirled in a circle, hooking Alice's arm with mine, and walked her towards the room where Dodo was.

* * * * * * *

_It never ceased to amaze me how positive Anya could be, even in the worst of times. I'm sure she knew that her constant smile would always begin to annoy me, but somehow...it seemed to make me feel_

better. Even if I had a shred of doubt in my mind about something, like whether to put this type of tea on the market, I could just look at Anastasia and then know whatever I did, it would be fine. I wanted to

stop playing both sides of the court, for her sake and mine. If she was going to stay with me after this was over, I wanted to stop this constant demand from both ends. I couldn't imagine how hard this was for

her, also playing both sides. I don't know why I cared about her so much, but I did. You could say she was my one true friend in this crazy place. Now, as I watched her walk towards Dodo's office, arm in arm

with Alice, a weird thought crossed my mind. _**You know, she is really quite appealing...** I saw her twirl in a circle and open the door for Alice._

"Come on Hatter! You're slacking!" She waved at me from the end of the hall, smiling. I nodded to her, a small smile playing across my lips._**...In a silly sort of Wonderland way...** It was then I had realized_

what I had just thought and it surprised me so much that I had to reach up and grab my hat. Which I usually did when I was shocked and wanted to know it was still there. I had never thought of Anya in that

way. She'd just been a friend. Someone to talk to and laugh with. It never crossed my mind that she might be more than that to me. No, I couldn't think of her like that. If this whole plan of mine was to work, I

couldn't be worried about what Anya was feeling. I closed my eyes to think for a minute. Anya had to change...she had to be something other than my friend. It was then I decided she would become a pawn in

this game of mine. I would use her for whatever I needed. Maybe she could infiltrate the Hearts' Casino and pretend to work for the Queen? That would be interesting...to have a person on the inside. I swiped off

my hat, and smoothed my hair down. I began to walk slowly towards the door to Dodo's office, putting the hat back on my head as I went. I opened the door to see Anya sitting cross-legged on Dodo's desk,

chatting away with him about the goings-on of things above the Great Library. Alice was stationed next to her, unmoving, a funny look upon her face. Anya glanced over at me, smiling, and continued chatting

with Dodo until he stopped her. With a small pout and a laugh, she hopped off the table and walked over to me, patting the hat down on my head. I glared at her and readjusted it. Alice came to stand beside us

and I glanced at her. She still looked scared and curious like she always did, but her eyes showed that she knew something much more than she was letting on. What had she and Anya been whispering about

as they walked? I tried to think of something else and ended up watching Anya mess with her nails. Dodo took forever to get ready to speak. I continued watching Anya with little interest in her nails. I was

mostly watching the expressions on her face. Concentration, anger, and then triumph. She was funny, this little human-wonderlander. Her eyes showed every emotion that went through her. I finally noticed

her eyes were green. A gorgeous green... Parts of her hair fell down into her face, causing her lip to jut forward in a pout. She flung them back up and began messing with the nails on her other hand. _**You know**_

she is really quite appealing**...in a silly sort of Wonderland way... **This time, I was sure I meant it, because once the thought had passed, Anya looked up and smiled at me, and, believing everything would

go smoothly, I couldn't help but to smile back.  



	3. Dodo

Something was definitely bothering Hatter. I knew as soon as he walked through the door. I stood there in silence, playing with my nails so I wouldn't have to look at him. _I wonder if he knows?...Maybe_

I should tell him… I sighed a little, and I think he noticed because when I raised my eyes to look at him, his eyebrows were raised. I quickly looked at Dodo.

"What do you want?" Dodo said.

"She's looking for her boyfriend." Hatter said, pointing a thumb at Alice. "A Jack Chance."

"Chase, idiot. Jack Chase." I said, glaring at him. I looked at Dodo. "She needs help. We thought of you, Dodo."

"Really?" Dodo said, coming out of the dark corner. "And why would I want to help your oyster when you know that bringing her here puts us all at risk?"

"Oh please," Hatter said, "I've spent years smuggling more dangerous things than this down here" Dodo smiled and walked closer.

"You know what rankles most about blood-sucking carpet baggers like you, Hatter?" Hatter froze, his eyes almost fearful. He was scared of Dodo. "Your goal, while we risk our lives trying to bring

freedom to ungrateful leeches like you, you swan about, living the good life."

"Stop your crowin', you know I'm on your side." I shook my head.

"I'm sure you say that to all your enemies."

"I do what's necessary. I kiss what butts need kissin' so that your machine stays oiled."

"Look, if you can't help me I'll just leave." Alice started to turn around but I stopped her.

"What a minute." I whispered to her. She nodded and turned back to Dodo.

"Headstrong isn't she?"

"Shut up, bird-brain." I glared at him.

"Why do you always bring her along?" Dodo asked Hatter, hate in his voice.

"Because. We're a packaged deal." Hatter said. "She comes with me, that's the end of it." I stuck my tongue out at Dodo and smiled.

"Can you help me get Jack out of the casino?" Alice asked, getting us all back on subject.

"I don't see how."

"The resistance has contacts inside the casino, right?" For the first time I froze. What would Dodo say? I didn't know if he knew about me or not.

"No comment." I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until Dodo said that. Either he didn't know, or he was hiding that he did.

"Why don't you use them to find her guy?" I said. "She can pay you. But I'm sure Hatter will want his usual cut up front." Alice looked at Hatter.

"Pay me…pay me, with what?" Hatter walked around Alice and stood on the other side of her, pushing me out of the way.

"Show him the rock, Alice." My eyes widened slightly.

"What?"

"The ring…on your finger." I could tell by her expression that Alice didn't know Hatter knew about the ring. I hadn't even noticed.

"No! That is off limits!!" Hatter looked at her. I have to admit, I loved the way the light hit his face when it was turned that way. I shook my head slightly, I shouldn't be thinking of such things now.

Unknown to us, Dodo had come closer and took up Alice's hand. I immediately recognized the ring, and grabbed Alice's hand to make sure.

"It's…not possible." I whispered, my eyes wide.

"Where did you get it?" Dodo asked.

"It's none of your business." Alice said. "It's not for sale."

"Where did you get it!?" Dodo yelled at her, and she leaned backwards.

"What is it?" Hatter said.

"Your oyster, Hatter, is wearing the Stone of Wonderland…" I let Alice's hand go.

"That's impossible…"

"I'm never wrong." I took a step back. My ears tuned out, I couldn't hear anything. They were arguing, and I finally came to my senses in time.

"Take them out!" He walked back to his chair, the old woman, who had been standing quietly, had pointed her gun at Alice. Hatter stepped in front of her, blocking the gun. I felt a twinge of jealousy;

he would never have done that if it was me…

"Stop! Just wait!" Hatter said.

"You're in way over your head, Hatter. It controls the Looking Glass, you know that." Dodo pulled out a gun of his own. "We've been waiting for years for a break like this, and now it falls into our laps."

I stepped in between Hatter and Dodo's gun, my eyes determined.

"Stop waving that thing around, Dodo. You're scaring everyone." I felt Hatter's hands on my shoulder; he was trying to push me out of the way. I didn't budge.

"Anya, get out of the way." He said.

"If anyone is getting shot here, it's going to be me." I said.

"But, Anya, I-"

"I don't want anything to happen to you…" I whispered. He didn't say anything. I think he was in shock or something but at the moment, I could only think of the gun pointed to my heart.

"Listen, _Anastasia Maria._ If we can return the oysters to their world, then maybe we can save ours!"

"Just put the gun down, Dodo." I said quietly.

"Think about it! The Queen reduced to mopping floors. It'll be just like the old days. Justice, reason, and the rule of law!" Dodo raised the gun slightly, to get a better aim.

"Stop this Dodo!" I didn't have time to say anything else. Dodo had gotten angry, and in his anger, his finger pulled the trigger. I was sent flying backwards into the pile of books.

"Anya!" I think it was Hatter's voice, but I wasn't sure. He came over to me though, and lifted me out of the books. "Anya…" he said, his voice more quiet and concerned this time. I smiled up at him, my

eyes showing the true pain I was in.

"I'm fine, really." Hatter had his hand pressed against the entry wound, trying to stop the bleeding. I coughed, and a little blood trickled out of my mouth. Hatter's eyes widened.

"I know…I'm just being used by you…" I said, "But…that's okay with me…" I raised my hand to touch his cheek. "It's okay if it's you…" Hatter was then pulled away from me, my fingers leaving a couple

streaks of blood on his face. I could just barely make out Dodo pushing Hatter to the ground and then running after Alice. Hatter stood up, and followed after them. He had just left me there, a bullet

wound in my heart, lying among the books. I blacked out.

* * *

**What a jerk, lol Hatter just leaves her there! Still, that was a cute fluff moment they had :3 Review please =] **


	4. Heart's Casino

When I woke up I was in a room, probably in the hearts casino. There were black and white patterns everywhere.

"You're awake!!" I looked over to my right. March Hare was sitting there on her knees, her face an inch from mine. I blinked.

"Hi, Marche." She sat back and smiled at me. Her shoulder length, chocolate brown hair, was curled around her face. Her bunny ears matched her hair, her bright hazel eyes twinkled at me. She was

wearing a striped tang top and black skinny jeans. I rubbed my head.

"What am I doing here? What happened to-" I stopped. No one could know Alice was here. Marche looked at me, her head tilted.

"Anyway! Anya, Mad March is alive!" I sat up and stared at her.

"How?"

"Carpenter did something to him, but come on!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room, through the casino, and to the throne room. The Queen was there, looking over Mad March. She

turned around to look at Marche and I.

"Ah. It's nice to see your fine."

"Wait a damn minute!" I said, remembering what had happened. "I got _shot_!" My hand went up to my heart; there was nothing there, no scar, no trace of any wound.

"I had carpenter fix it." The Queen said, coming over to me. "I couldn't let my only daughter die, now could I?" She moved some of my hair out of my face and smiled at me.

"Where is Jack?" I asked. "Is he back yet?"

"Yes, actually. He is!" Marche said happily. "I dunno where though…" I turned around to see Alice standing behind be, surrounded by Clubs. Her eyes widened when she looked at me.

"Where is the ring?" I looked at my mom; she was back in her throne.

"I've never worn a ring in my life." Alice said, her face calm.

"We know Jack gave you the ring, Alice." The king, my father, said. "The White Rabbit told us, but what we don't know is whether you left it in your world." He really was stupid.

"She has it here." I said, my face to the ground. "She wouldn't have had a chance to get to the Looking Glass. I saw it. She had it." I glanced at Alice, betrayal played out all across her face.

"I want you to free my boyfriend, Jack Chase, and send us both home. When we're certain that we're safe, I'll tell you where the ring is." She said.

"I see. Number Nine. Go fetch this Jack Chase." The Club looked confused but went to go get him anyway. One of the other Clubs leaned down slightly to whisper in my ear.

"The 'Jack Chase' is your brother by the way." I smiled, and waited for the doors to open. When they did, I ran to hug my older brother.

"Jack!" He smiled and hugged me back.

"I thought you were with Hatter?"

"Yeah, well, I got shot, so…" I shrugged and Alice turned around.

"Wasn't that convenient? Jack Chase was right outside the door." Alice looked at Jack and then to me.

"His real name is Jack Heart; he lied to you about that too." I said, looking straight at Alice. "He's my older brother." Alice looked confused. "Anastasia Maria Heart. Princess of Hearts." I said, curtsying

with a wide smile on my face.

"Ana Maria please…"

"Shush, Jack. Your girlfriend has hidden the Stone of Wonderland out there in the bushes somewhere!"

"She's not my girlfriend." Jack said. "She's nothing to me." Alice took a step closer.

"Jack?..."

"Alice. Tell us where you hid the ring." She hesitated, not sure in what to say.

"I won't tell anyone where it is until you've taken me home."

"I'm sure we can win over the girl without going back to smelly old home sweet home." The doors opened, and a woman in a golden outfit stood there. She walked in and curtsied to the Queen.

"Hi, Duchess!" She looked and smiled at me.

"Welcome back, Princess."

"Jack," I said, poking him in the side. "Have you nothing to say to your fiancé?" Alice basically glared at him.

"What?" This entertained me. To see the person that Hatter literally left me for so confused and hurt made me feel…ecstatic.

"Don't tell me Jack didn't mention his life-long love. His widely romantic engagement and upcoming wedding." Duchess had a strange look on her face, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"So this is…" She said quietly, reaching up to touch Alice's chin.

"I'm afraid so."

"Really." Duchess said, looking at Jack and then back at Alice. "I'm starting to wonder about your taste, Jack. I mean if you think she's pretty, what must you think of me." Alice smacked Duchess' hand

away and I laughed.

"He thinks you're the most gorgeous creature in the world, Duchess." I said. "That's why he's marrying you. You see, Alice, my brother has been engaged for months now. His flight through the Looking

Glass was no more than a diversion, a wave goodbye to his mischievous youth."

"You're going to tell us where you hid the ring." My mother said, walking toward Alice, whose attention shifted from me to her. "And then you are going to wish you never laid eyes on my son."

"Well, I better run." Jack said. I raised an eyebrow at him. _Where the hell does he have to go? _ Jack went to Alice and pulled her away from the rest of us. I couldn't hear what he was saying, to be

honest, I was more worried about what had happened to Hatter if Alice was here. I did however, see him put something in Alice's hands.

"Duchess." Jack said, reaching his hand out toward his fiancé, who gladly took it.

"Ana, take her to the truth room."

"Ugh. Fine." I really didn't want this to happen; now Alice would have a perfect chance to yell at me.

* * *

**Are you ready for five new chapters! I am =D If you want to thank someone for these new chapters, thank -YouStoleMyName-. Why? Because their review inspired me to write again. So yeah, enjoy these new chapters and please review =] **


	5. Sheila or Shakina?

"What is wrong with you?" Was the first thing out of Alice's mouth. I rolled my eyes.

"Nothing." I replied, not looking at her.

"Yeah, right. Since when are you a princess, and Jack's little sister?" Was she serious?

"Since I was born?"

"Does he know?" I knew who she meant by he; I looked down at the floor.

"No. He doesn't know. I…I'll tell him when it's the right time." Alice looked away from me.

"No one appreciates a liar."

"You're one to talk." I fired back. "Lying about the ring."

"That's different." She replied, her voice slightly louder than I think she meant it to be. "Your _mother_ doesn't deserve to wear that ring." We reached the truth room, which meant I couldn't go off on her

about talking about my mother like that. I pushed her into the room and walked out, smiling. _I wonder where Marche is._

I wandered around the halls of the casino, Marche clinging to my arm and rambling on about things that I didn't even know. It had been three days since Alice had gotten here. I turned a corner and

bumped straight into Hatter and an old man. _Shit._ Hatter's eyes were wide.

"Anya? What are you doing here?" Marche looked from him to me.

"Princess?" She said quietly.

"Go on, Marche. I need to speak with them." Marche nodded, let go of my arm, and continued walking down the hall. I looked at Hatter.

"Why did she call you princess?" He asked.

"Uhm…" I stalled. "Well…I woke up here, and the queen told me to, uhm…play with her and keep her out of trouble. She, uh, thinks I'm a princess…?" I really hoped that would work. I don't know if he

believed me, his face, and eyes, were blank; no emotion whatsoever.

"So, uh, what are you two doing here, going after Alice I presume?"

"You know she's here!" the old man said. "Where!"

"In the truth room." Hatter was looking at me, suspicion now in his eyes. "I was going to get her out, but my plan wasn't necessarily full proof…" He ignored me and looked to the old man.

"Charlie, what are you doing?" The old man had been making weird noises, his eyes closed. They suddenly popped open and he pointed down the hall.

"Down here, take the second left at the stairs that lead up to the third floor, then after the double doors, take the third walkway on the right over the Fitness Center to Reception B and ask Sheila!" He

said in one breath. _Wow…_

"Sheila?" I said.

"Eh, maybe it's Shakina…C'mon!" Hatter and I both watched Charlie walk ahead of us, following his own directions. I stood back as Hatter made to follow him, but he stopped and turned to look at me.

"Aren't you coming, Anya?" I looked up at him.

"You left me there…_bleeding to death_, and you want me to come with you?" I'm sure he knew what I was feeling, I was human after all, my eyes could show every emotion.

"Anya, I…" He came over to me, his hands on my upper arms. "You know beating the Red Queen is important." He whispered. "I just…I…I couldn't let the ring out of my sight. It could be our only

chance." I looked down at the ground, trying to fight back the tears. _Why do you do this to me, Hatter? _I felt his hand move from my arm to lift up my chin so I was looking at him; he moved my hair out

of my face before returning his hand to my upper arm.

"I need you with me, Anya. We're a packaged deal, remember?" He smiled at me and took my hand, pulling me along as he ran after Charlie.  
_  
If you knew…you wouldn't need me with you…you wouldn't want me with you…_

My mind had gone completely blank and the next thing I knew, Hatter was almost falling through a door. I grabbed on to the back of his jacket as Alice said his name. I looked around, Alice was

standing on a tiny piece of wood, a table floating in front of her with a paper, ink bottle, pen, fan and gloves.

"Go away! This is a private session!" One of the doctors yelled. Hatter opened the door wider and I let go of him and stood back; he held his hand out to Alice.

"Jump." Alice climbed on top of the desk, jumped and grabbed hold of the tiny metal chandelier that hung above, causing her to swing and she flung herself off of it into Hatter's arms. He caught her

around the waist and pulled her back into the 'hallway'.

"How did you get in here?" Alice asked, out of breath from the jump; she hadn't noticed me yet.

"I don't know, ask Charlie." Charlie was busy inspecting the wall and Alice finally looked at me. She looked angry, knowing I was there, but I widened my eyes and mouthed at her not to tell Hatter,

because I would. She nodded. Then we ran.

We ended up on the roof, three suits running at us to fight. I took one, Hatter took another, which left the other for Alice or Charlie. I knocked mine out fairly quickly, as did Charlie and Alice. I looked to

Hatter. He wiped some blood from his lip, and picked up his hat. He turned to face the man he was fighting and flipped his hat to his other hand, which left the right one free to punch him in the face.

Hatter jogged back over to us, flipping his hat on his head.

"What now?" Alice asked.

"We get on one of those." Hatter said, pointing to three pink flamingos.

"I'm not getting on that." Alice said. _Oh geez…the height thing again._ I jumped onto a flamingo behind Charlie.

"It's perfectly safe, Alice!" I said.

"Well…safe-ish." Hatter said.

"You don't understand, I have a thing about heights!" We heard gunshots, and I turned my head to look at who was shooting.

"Yeah, well I have a thing about bullets!" Hatter yelled at her. "Look, I wouldn't let you do it if I didn't think you'd be okay." I looked at him, but he was more focused on Alice, something I hadn't

remembered. It felt weird, to see him look at her with such care. It twisted my heart a little…but then Charlie pushed a button and we zoomed off into the sky.  


* * *

**I fail at writing fight scenes ._. So I never do =D Review please! **


	6. Flamingoes Go Down

A couple of suits followed us, shooting at the flamingos we were on.

"We are angels!" Charlie mused. One of the gunshots had hit our engine, we were falling.

"Charlie!" I heard Alice yell. I sat there, clinging to Charlie as we fell closer to the sea.

"Anya!" I could hear Hatter yell my name and then the rush of icy cold water made me forget. The impact startled me, and I swam up to the surface.

"Charlie!" I yelled, looking around for him.

"I'm alive!" Charlie yelled to the sky. I sighed in relief and swam over to him.

"Ah! Girl I do not know! We're alive!"

"I'm Anya, and of course we are, Charlie, you're a knight!" I laughed. We both started to swim toward the shore. We found a clear spot and Charlie made a fire. He handed me a blanket, I had no idea

where he had gotten it, but I was glad he had. I hopped off into the forest, stripping off my soaking wet clothes, and wrapping myself around the torso with the blanket, tying it with a vine. I walked

back out and laid my clothes out across the branch structure Charlie had made to dry. I sat down on a piece of driftwood next to Charlie and waited.

I don't know how long we were there, but eventually I could hear Alice's voice calling Charlie's name.

"I'll be right back." I said to him, as I walked away I heard him sing. I followed the voices until I could see Alice and Hatter.

"You still don't trust me after I just risked my neck getting you out of there." Hatter said. He and Alice were both soaking wet. I smiled just looking at him. Hair messed up and dripping, hat not on his

head…I shook my own head, we had bigger things to deal with.

"Why did you risk your neck?" Alice asked.

"Unbelievable." Hatter said. "Why are you being so ungrateful?"

"Look, I don't blame you, your people need you, Anya probably needs you, and the ring might make all the difference."

"Is that why you think I did this?" That really was a good question, why had Hatter put everything on the line for this oyster? "So I could get my hands on the ring?"

"I respect that," Alice replied. "It just shows you're a man of integrity after all but first I need to use it to get my father out."

"Father?" Alice turned to look at him.

"He's here."

"I don't understand." _Hatter…you're stupid. He's probably in the casino with every other non-Wonderlander. _

"Jack slipped me his watch." _So that's what it was. _"R. H. Robert Hamilton. I remember this watch. It's his for sure. Look, it's stuck on the exact date and time that he disappeared: March 23rd . He's in

the casino somewhere." _Pegged it._ There was no emotion on Hatter's face as he looked at Alice.

"He's lying." He said simply. In my mind I was going through the possible people who could be Alice's father. I couldn't find one. I looked back to see if Charlie was still there, and he was, so I looked

back at Alice and Hatter.

"Look, Jack took a big risk passing this to me."

"And you believe him." Typical Hatter. Stating the obvious.

"Why wouldn't I?" Alice asked, not looking back at Hatter.

"Because he's lied to you about _everything_."

"He had his reasons."

"Stop making excuses for him, Alice…" I whispered.

"I'm stunned. Why are you even defending him?" Hatter agreed with me and he didn't even know it.

"Because he's trying to help me." _God, Alice, what do you think Hatter is trying to do? He didn't take you to Dodo for money or anything. He would have never gone this far for anyone if he really wanted to help _

_them, not even me…his charity stopped at the job and his friendship. _

"Really, well let's just think about that." Hatter said, grabbing Alice's arm and turning her to face him. "He took the ring from his mother and gave it to you, why, because it made you a target, Alice."

"Well, he wasn't expecting me to follow him. Look, I screwed up bringing the ring here!" _No kidding…_I wondered then what our lives would be like if Alice had never showed up, would they be the same?

Or was this entire ordeal inevitable?

"And he blames you for that!"

"No! Not exactly…" She turned away from him once again.

"Why is he even going around pretending to be someone else anyway?" Hatter asked, exaggerating the question by waving his hat in the air.

"He's hiding from them." Alice said matter-of-factly.

"Why?" Hatter almost yelled.

"I don't know!" Alice yelled as she turned around. Hatter stopped in his tracks and looked away for a moment, he looked back at her with his head cocked to the side.

"He's engaged. To a duchess." _It's not __**A **__duchess, it's just __**Duchess**__. Geez…_ I happened to like her.

"So he's two-timing you." Hatter's voice was calmer now. I tried not to laugh.

"I don't think it's like that."

"Step one is denial, sweetheart." I laughed quietly to myself.

"And now he tells you that your father has been in the casino this whole time, does that not seem a little bit fishy?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's not a coincidence." Their conversation was interrupted by an oddly loud part of Charlie's song. Alice and Hatter both looked in the direction it had come from and I ran to sit back next to Charlie.

When they came through the brush, Charlie got up to hug Alice and I stood back, my hands clasped behind my back. Hatter looked at me, an eyebrow raised at what I was wearing. I shrugged and

pointed to my drying clothes.

"We should get off this beach before we get spotted." Hatter said, sticking his hat on his head and walking away.

"No." I said. He turned.

"No."

"We have to get Alice back to the casino. Her dad is in there…" I mumbled. Hatter walked toward me.

"Why? She's still hooked on Jack. What good would it do since we just got her out of there?"

"He was trying to help her!" I couldn't believe I was taking Alice's side on this, but it made sense to me. Jack told her that her father was there by giving her the watch, and my brother only lied when

he had to.

"Really?" Hatter said. "It seems to me that he was using her!"

"And you're not?" He froze at my words, and I couldn't believe I had said them.

"I thought you cared what's happening here, Anya? All the people's lives that are getting ripped apart by the Queen."

"Of course I do, I'm one of them." I admit it felt good to be talking to Hatter, I had missed him.

"Then give the resistance a chance." He stated.

"I've met those guys already." Alice interrupted.

"One arm of the organization that was. If we get to the top man he'll help us."

"Do you know him?" No.

"Yes…no. Not exactly, no one knows his true identity. But he goes by a codename: Caterpillar." I laughed and Hatter glared at me. "Give me a few hours." He said to Alice. "I'll slip back into the city and

I'll make contact. You and Anya can stay in the fortress with Charlie, you'll be safe there. If I'm not back by nightfall…do it your way."

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**Yeah, I didn't really know what to do for this chapter except have Anya eavesdropping on Hatter's and Alice's conversation. o-o So...yeah, review please. **


	7. Truth Hurts

Nightfall came, and went. I sat on top of a hill, staring out into the city. Dawn broke and Alice came up to the hill to watch the sunrise with me.

"I'm telling him today." I said, not looking at her. "I don't…I don't want to lie to him anymore…"

"You really like him, don't you?"

"Of course I do." I said without hesitation. "He's my best friend." We both heard panting and turned our heads to see Hatter trotting up the hill.

"It's good news." He said, stopping in front of Alice, not even looking at me. "The resistance wants to help. They're sending a special agent who'll take us to see Caterpillar." He was out of breath.

"That's quite a steep hill." Fail. "Are you okay?" I looked at Alice, who was just staring at Hatter.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming back." Hatter flashed her his brilliant smile.

"You still don't trust me?" Okay, time for me to intervene.

"How soon until he gets here?" I asked, pulling myself up. I was back in my old clothes again, and was thankful to get out of that blanket; I really hated dresses.

"These guys can move pretty fast when they need to." Hatter said, noticing me for the first time; his smile had faded.

"You're going to join them, aren't you?" I mumbled. "Fight alongside them…"

"I have to try. As Dodo said, I've…lived my life playing both sides of the court. It's the only way we could stay alive." He said, looking at me. "I made the Hearts think I was working for them while I fed

their enemies. Those days are over." I could tell by the way he spoke that he wasn't just doing it for himself, he was doing it for me too. I knew my face looked sad because that's what I felt.

The three of us started back down the hill and I stopped Hatter.

"Hatter…I need to tell you something. It's-"

"In a minute, Anya. Let me check on Alice." He ran off to catch up with her.

"Important…" I sighed. He'd never listen to me long enough until Alice was gone.

"What's the matter?" He said to Alice.

"What will I do, if I get stuck here?"

"Then I'll make sure you're okay." He didn't even hesitate in his reply. His hands were on her arms, and from where I was I could even see them slowly leaning in to each other.

"I think your luck is finally changing…" Hatter whispered. Their lips were about to touch when someone in a snappy black suit walked toward them and their heads turned. I looked too, quickly wiping

my eyes. It was Jack.

"That's right, it is. Hello, Alice. I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Thank god for big brothers and their horrible timing. I was quite sure I would've beaten Alice to a pulp if their lips had met. Hatter

picked up a random stick and swung it in a circle, rushing forward to meet Jack.

"You think you can take me on with that?" Jack said smugly.

"I'm not an old man." Hatter replied.

"Look nobody is fighting unless it is me and I am a black belt." Of course Alice would intervene. I stood in the background, waiting for my chance.

"Who's your friend?" Jack asked, glaring at Hatter.

"He's just a friend."

"Yes, you two look pretty friendly."

"Are you jealous, Jack?"

"A little."

"So the guy who is engaged to a duchess is worried about me?"

"You know that was just an act."

"No, I don't." Alice said.

"Jack." I walked up to my brother and gave him a lame one-arm side hug; he kissed the top of my head.

"Hello, Ana Maria." Hatter was staring at me. I wasn't able to look back.

"Anya…how do you…"

"Have you met my little sister?" Jack said to Hatter. "Anastasia Maria Heart." The tears were falling now.

"All this time…" I finally looked up at Hatter, betrayal was all over his face. "You've been lying to me all this time…"

"I tried to tell you…" I whispered. "This morning…but you were to preoccupied with your precious Alice that you didn't even care…"

"Anastasia, now is not the time. Now, come Alice. I've brought you a horse." Hatter's attention was again shifted to Alice. In a split second he had gone from the sudden truth of my identity to the fear

of his Alice leaving with Jack.

"She's not going anywhere with you." Hatter said, standing in between Alice and Jack and I.

"You know she can't stay here."

"Look, stop it, both of you." She looked at Hatter. "I need to know about my dad. Is he here?" She asked, looking back at Jack.

"Yes. He's alive and well and if you let me I'll take you to him but we need to go now. We don't have much time." Alice went over to the throne of the White King and slid the ring off the skeleton finger.

"Don't be fooled by this, Alice. He's working for his mother." I was staring back at the ground, only listening.

"Then why am I alone? Why aren't there a hundred suits at my back? How did I find you out here in the middle of the forest, do you think I followed my nose?"

"How did you find us?" Hatter said to him.

"You sent for me." Hatter had a what-the-hell look on his face. "I'm the agent who is supposed to escort you to Caterpillar."

"We want to over-throw our mother…" I mumbled. "We've seen what she's done in close up and know perhaps better than anyone that if we don't stop her she'll destroy Wonderland."

"So who are you going to trust to get you and your father back home? A resistance insider and future king, who has already scheduled your return trip through the Looking Glass, who cares for you

more than anyone else in the world, or this man?" He looked at Hatter, who dropped the stick he had been holding in defeat.

"I wish you all the luck in the world, Alice." Hatter said as she handed the ring to Jack.

"You're coming with us, Hatter."

"I don't think I figure in the future king's plans."

"He's coming with us." She said to Jack.

"The resistance will only help you on their terms, you must come alone." Jack replied. I knew he was happy that Hatter wouldn't come with.

"But Hatter stood by me."

"It's for your own safety and your father's."

"Hey." Hatter said, scooting closer to Alice. "I wouldn't want to go with this guy anyway." With one last longing look, Hatter turned away from her.

"What will you do?" She called after him. He turned.

"Me? Are you kidding?" He smiled. "I'll be fine. Believe me, you're better off with this guy." Alice stared at him. "Go." With one word, she was gone, riding off with Jack. I sat down on the ground, trying

to hastily wipe my tears away. Hatter turned to look at me.

"I didn't lie to you…" I whispered.

"You're on their side. You're their _princess._"

"I haven't lied to you once!" I said, looking up at him. "Why do you think I stayed with you all this time? It wasn't as a spy, I wasn't following any orders! It was because I didn't want to be a stupid

princess! I wanted to stay with you and work in the teashop…" I looked back on the ground, one hand was propping me up while the other rested over my legs. "You still didn't even notice…"

* * *

**Stupid Hatter. -.- RambleRambleFez. Review please. **


	8. Knives and Tarts

He just stared at me, disgust all over his face. He turned away from me, not saying a word to me. I sat there in silence, alone; Charlie had followed Hatter.

**I stood at the top of the hill, Charlie standing next to me, watching as Alice rode off with her precious Jack Heart. **_**The Prince…I don't believe it…**_** More like I didn't want to believe it.  
**

**"I'm going after her." Charlie declared, going off towards the bottom of the hill.  
**

**"No." I said simply. She didn't need us anymore.  
**

**"I am sworn to protect her."  
**

**"Your work here is done. But you should be proud…you've done one hell of a job. But she's in safe hands now…" So much had happened in one day, Alice had almost kissed me, Jack **

**interrupted, Alice went off with him to find her father, and Anya…she was a princess. I couldn't believe she had lied to me about that all this time. Part of me wondered about the real reason **

**she had stayed with me this whole time. If she was against the resistance then the Great Library would have been burnt down by now. She'd gone there many times… I walked back down the **

**hill. Anya had made a tiny fire, and I smiled slighty. **_**Can't even build a fire…**_** I threw some more wood on the fire, poking at it with a stick, it grew and the surrounding area got warmer. Anya **

**was curled up next to the fire, her arms keeping her head from touching the ground. I picked her up - **_**Why am I being nice to her?...**_** – and laid her on Charlie's bed. I realized then that I would **

**hear her story in the morning, I knew she wanted to tell me. I was 'to preoccupied with my precious Alice' as she had said. **

**When I woke that morning, Anya was gone. There was a crumpled up piece of paper inside of my hat; I found it when I put the hat on my head. I unfolded it and recognized Anya's handwriting **

**immediately. **

_**Hatter, I know you probably hate me…I saw the disgust on your face when you looked at me…so I left. The truth of the matter is, I ran from the casino when I was younger, I couldn't bear **_

_**to watch my mother and her tyranny over Wonderland. Jack knew where I had been because I told him. When I found you and the teashop I didn't want to leave, I still don't. I have never **_

_**lied to you. You just never knew my last name; it means nothing to me. Being a Heart isn't all it's cracked up to be…anyway, I've gone back to the casino, in case you wanted to know, **_

_**which you probably didn't…I can't stay with you knowing that you can't stand the sight of me anymore. I love you, Hatter, more than you could possibly know. I wish you all the **_

_**happiness a person can wish for you and Alice. Anya. **_

"**As stupid as ever…" I mumbled to myself. I looked up at nothing in particular, contemplating a life without Anya. I drew a blank, nothing came to mind. Nothing that could be better, nothing **

**that could be worse. I reread the last to lines out loud to myself. "'I love you, Hatter, more than you could possibly know. I wish you all the happiness a person can wish for you and Alice.' **

**Stupid girl…I can't imagine a life without you, Anya…" It had to be true. Her smile brightened up my mornings when I came into work. It was cliché and out of my character, but she was the **

**only sun in this darkened wasteland of a Wonderland. "It seems like I'm always thinking of Alice or Anya…"  
**

**"You love her." I turned around to see Charlie looking at me. "You must pick which one to stay with, harbinger. You cannot have both."  
**

**"Oh, go slay a Jabberwocky." I snapped at him. He smiled wickedly at me and ran off into the forest. I looked at the note again before shoving it into my pocket. **_**Seems like, probably, I'm sure **_

_**I love her…so I guess it happens just like they say. Love begins, when it wants to. You can't tell it what to do or who it ought to happen to…**_** I jumped onto the brown horse, yelling at Charlie **

**that I was taking it, and rode off. I was headed in the general direction of the city, after Alice, but was also slightly angled toward the casino, after Anya. I got to a crossroad, left for Alice, right **

**for Anya. I chose left. **

**I raced over the hilltop and stopped for a moment, watching as two figures came trotting out of the forest. I would recognize that blue dress anywhere. The sun caught something on the **

**opposite mountain, causing it to shine. **_**Charlie. **_** I rode faster than he and cut him off.  
**

**"You're following them." I stated.  
**

**"So are you." He replied. I shook my head. "Don't you shake your head at me. When I gave you Guinevere you said you were going to hide out in the hills. Well these are not the hills!"  
**

**"Come on then." I nudged the horse to move, and both Charlie and I continued along following after Alice.  
**

**"What about Anya?" Charlie mumbled.  
**

**"What about Anya." I demanded. Charlie shook his head.  
**

**"Stupid, stupid vessel…" **

I sat silently in my room of the casino. Not letting anyone in, not even Marche. I sat there, staring at the ground. Then Marche came bursting through the door.

"Anya! We got the traitor! The double-agent!" She looked happy and I looked up at her.

"Who?"

"I don't know his name, he's got this funny shirt and purple pants and a funny hat." My eyes widened. _Did Hatter come after me? _

"Where is he now?"

"They're taking him to the truth room, the Dr.'s and Mad March are going to 'take care of him'. Whatever that means." Knowing Mad March and the Dr.'s, Hatter wouldn't survive. I ran out of the room,

leaving Marche behind and ran as fast as I could to the truth room. Mad March arrived at the same time I did, and I stood in front of the door. His cookie jar bunny head tilted.

"Move out of the way, Ana Maria."

_I was five. My mother stood in front of me with my twin brother, her hand on his shoulder.  
_

_"Anastasia. Your brother committed the act of treason." Like I knew what that was. "He tried to murder me with the knife you see in his hand." I looked down. Sure enough, he was holding a knife at his side, _

_the fingers surrounding the handle turning white. "He's being sent away."_

"What are you going to do to him?" I asked, staring at him.

"Why do you care?"

"Answer the damn question!" My voice echoed through the hall. If my brother had a face, he would have been smirking at me.

"Why, the same thing mother had done to you, but worse." My eyes widened.

_There was no food to be found anywhere, I was six, and starving. I wandered around the casino, hoping for any crumb of food. I eventually found myself in my mother's room and a delicious smell wafted past _

_my nose. It smelled of apple and warm sugary syrup. I followed my nose to a tray of tarts sitting on my mother's bedside table. I picked one up, it warmed my fingers, and took as big of a bite as a six year old _

_could take.  
_

_"Why are you eating my tarts?" I whirled around, the tart dropping from my hand to the floor, and stared at my mother with wide eyes.  
_

_"I'm sorry, mommy, I'm just so hungry…" It was then that Dr. Dee and Dr. Dum took an arm each, and dragged me to the truth room. Let's just say I learned then that no one ate the Red Queen's tarts. _

Mad March walked toward me and shoved me to the side. His head twisted around to look at me.

"You've changed, Anastasia."

"You haven't."

* * *

**I wanted the Queen to be more...merciless than she seemed in the show; and I thought it would be cool for Anya to have a twin brother. I figured the perfect way for the Queen to punish her daughter would be...the same way she punishes Hatter in the next chapter. Review please =] **


	9. Bleeding Again

I snuck into the room behind my brother, hearing screaming as I closed the door silently behind me. I turned to face the middle of the room. Hatter was sitting in a chair, his hands bound. Dr. Dee and

Dr. Dum were around him, one of them electrocuting him. I winced. I knew that instrument all to well. Dee and Dum were laughing. I could hear Hatter's breathing; he was in pain and trying not to show

it.

"Leave us." My brother said as he walked up to them. Dee and Dum turned to the door that I had just closed, and was still standing in front of. I had no time to move before they caught me.

"Mad March." One of them said. "What shall we do with her?" The bunny head looked at me and tilted to the left.

"Bring her here." Chains came up from the floor and the shackles at the end were clasped around my wrists; I was chained to the floor next to my brother.

"What are you doing here, Anya?" I heard Hatter whisper between his deep breaths.

"I was attempting to rescue you…" I mumbled.

"What a touching reunion." My brother said, slipping a knife out. One of the Dr.'s ran back inside, electrocuting Hatter one more time. The volts were higher this time because Hatter's scream rang

through my head long after his mouth had closed.

"Why-is-a-raven-like-a-writing-desk-the-clockworks-not-ticking-properly-there-may-be-crumbs-in-the-butter." _Yeah, cause that makes total sense. _The shackles were starting to twist the skin under

them, causing terrible itching that I couldn't scratch.

"Tell me where the Great Library is." Hatter glared at him. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd crack. In that case, there's no need to keep you alive."

"No." I don't know what had possessed me to speak at that. After all, Hatter had left me for Alice several times, one in which I was bleeding to death. Still, I had to see him smile again. "You can't do

this to him." I said. "You can kill me instead. I'm no use to you, but if Alice doesn't overthrow mother then Hatter can help you kill her!" My brother turned around to look at me.

"Why are you willing to take your own life for his?" He asked me. I looked at him. Even when we were little he was always able to tell what I was thinking. "Ah. You love him. Well, now that I know that,

I'll enjoy killing him ten times more." I didn't look at Hatter. I didn't know if he had gotten the note I left in his hat and if he did, I didn't know if he had actually registered the fact that I loved him.

Thankfully, Hatter wasn't looking at me. I glanced up at him through my eyelashes and saw him staring at the knife.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat, how I wonder what your at." Mad March's laugh echoed through the room. "Goodbye Hatter." He lunged out, and Hatter pushed his seat back so it fell to the ground. March

was caught off guard, giving Hatter the chance to kick him backwards. My brother stumbled while Hatter twisted and pulled his legs to where he was able to stand and hold the chair. He used it as a

defense as March swung at him. He swung until Hatter's right hand was freed. Hatter looked at his hand, a smile on his face, ducked a swing from Mad March, and punched him in the face. The bunny

head cracked and broke away into tiny pieces.

**I picked up the knife Mad March had been using and looked at Anya, twisting the handle in my hand. She was looking at me, wonder and maybe even fear filled her oyster eyes. She was **

**wondering if I would leave her chained there or not. I didn't know what to do. She had lied to me but…she was always there for me when I needed her… **

Hatter walked until he was standing in front of me. It was then that I could see all the cuts and bruises on his face. I stared at him. He bent down and slashed at the shackles on my wrists. They broke

away like the bunny head. Hatter stood up and I sat there, rubbing my wrists.

"Why did you come for me, Anya?" He asked.

"I know what my mother can do…" I answered standing up. I pulled up the side of my shirt, showing Hatter the scars that covered the side of my body. "It's the same on the other side too."

**To be honest I knew about the scars before. I just figured she had been in some horrible accident before she came to me.  
**

**"How did…?" She laughed.  
**

**"It's funny…I didn't know my mother was that cruel until I was starving and ate one of her tarts." She looked up at me with a smile on her face; one of her smiles that made her eyes sparkle **

**and brightened the whole room. I reached my hand out to her, flashing one of my smiles back at her.  
**

**"Down with the bloody red head." She took my hand and we ran out of the truth room.**

We ended up in the casino in time to see Alice being held at gunpoint. The dancers on the stage had run off and Alice stepped down, her arms raised. The two suits kept their guns, and eyes, fixed on

Alice. Hatter whistled. The one closest to us looked, and then was knocked out by a punch from Hatter's right hand. The other suit pointed his gun at Hatter and Alice pulled the gun out in time for

Hatter to punch him in the face as well. I picked up one of the guns and handed it to Hatter.

"Hatter, you're okay." Alice stated. _No shit, princess. _Hatter took the gun I had handed him and gave it to Alice. _So what do I get to use? Nothing? Yay. _

"Oh my god…" Alice had apparently noticed Hatter's face.

"It's just a few cuts and bruises, I'm fine." Alice hugged him, and I saw Hatter's hands find their way to her tiny waist. I looked down at mine. _Humph…she's skinnier than me too._

"I thought you were dead." I rolled my eyes. Even after all this she was still annoying.

"Ah, that feels good…" I heard Hatter mumble. I smiled and nodded to myself. _Yup, I still mean nothing. Nothing at all. _

**I could feel Anya's eyes staring at my back and pushed Alice away from me.  
**

**"We should save that until we're safe." I knew I was falling fast for Alice, but I was still confused about my feelings for Anya.  
**

**"I'm sorry I didn't trust you." Alice said.  
**

**"Do you trust me now?" I wondered aloud.  
**

**"Completely."**

"**Good, follow me." I turned to the door and then rotated around to face Anya. "Would you stop with the jealousy, rage, anger, stare please!?" She smiled at me, looking as innocent as ever.  
**

**"Whatever do you mean, Hatty?" **_**So she picks now of all times to be annoying…**_

"**We've got to get out of here."  
**

**"No." I looked at Alice.  
**

**"No?" **_**What was with her and this word?**_

"I have an idea." _Of course you do. We'll probably end up dead. _

"Do you see anymore suits in here?"

"Of course not Alice. There were suits back in the _real_ casino, but they popped up and shot at us. We're dead and this is heaven."

"Shut up, Anya."

"Sorryyyy. Stupid question gets a sarcastic answer." I smiled. Alice and Hatter ran off to seal the other exit while I sat down on the stage. The next thing I knew, Alice was standing next to me,

shooting her gun and yelling at the oysters to wake up.

"This isn't a dream." She said, her gun pointed at nothing in particular. "This is really happening. Look at me. Think. Where are your families? Your kids? Your husbands and your wives and your mothers

and your fathers? You were taken from them and brought here. Try to think. Your name, what's your name?" The oysters had started looking around and talking to each other. "Look down at your feet,

try to walk away from the tables. Wake up! Wake up!" The oysters were getting frustrated and I looked at them. _She's mixing all the wrong emotions together…this might actually work._ I stood up and

focused on my frustration; an emotion I knew no Wonderlander had ever wanted to feel, and tried to add that to all the other negative emotions going on in that room. It was the only thing I was able

to do. The door across the room started to shake.

"They're trying to break down the door." I yelled. "Want to know why? They don't want you to wake up." I could feel Hatter staring at me and was about to turn my head to look at him when the door

was flung open. The oysters begun to scream and run around; whatever had them rooted to one spot had been lifted. Hatter and Alice began shooting at the suits that had come in. _Shit! _I ducked. 

_Hatter you ass, why didn't you give me a gun! _Every oyster in the room ran out and Carpenter ran in. My ears tuned out again, and my vision became blurry. I looked down at my stomach. _  
_

"Why am I always the one that gets shot?" As if to contradict me, Carpenter, who had been hugging Alice, was shot in the back by Walrus. Walrus had his gun raised again, this time at Alice. I heard

the gunshot, and saw Alice jump. The five gunshots I heard next didn't come from Walrus's gun, but from Hatter's. The room begun to shake and I leaned against one of the roulette tables.

"Anya you're bleeding again…" Hatter said, walking over to me.

"Oh, so this time you want to help me?" I glared up at him.

"**What?" She had never glared at me like that before.  
**

**"Dodo's office. Great Library. I was shot protecting you and what did you do to repay me? You run off after Alice, leaving me there." She pushed herself to a standing position, glaring at me **

**still. "Go ahead, Hatty." She whispered. "Don't look like you're so surprised with your wide eyes. Go to Alice and help her. I know you want to…" I caught her in my arms as she passed out.  
**

**"Anya, you idiot…" I picked her up and carried her across one shoulder, her blood seeping onto my leather jacket. I pulled Alice to her feet as best I could and dragged her out of the room, her **

**crying the whole way. We had to get out of the casino; Alice I knew would probably have run out without my help, but Anya…I couldn't leave her again. **


	10. Need

I've always hated waking up and not knowing where I was. This time, I found myself in my own apartment. I opened my eyes and blinked, looking at my pure white ceiling. I heard snoring to my left

and looked over. Hatter was slumped in a chair, asleep. His hat set firmly in his hands. I sat up and crossed my legs. I picked up my pillow, lifted it over my head, and flung it at Hatter's face. He fell over

out of his chair and looked at me. I couldn't help but laugh at the what-the-hell expression on his face.

"Oh, ow." I put my hand to my stomach at stopped laughing.

"What is it? Are you bleeding again?" Hatter was at my side in an instant, pushing me over so he could see the bandages. "There doesn't look to be any blood…" He mumbled to himself. I studied his

face as he removed the bandaged from my stomach. His face was calm, seemingly expressionless, but his eyes were full of a worry I had never seen before. At least not for me.

"I'm fine, Hatter."

"No look, you pulled a few stitches. Lay down again so I can fix it." I did as I was told. I came to the conclusion that Hatter had carried me out of the casino, to my apartment, and healed the bullet

wound. I didn't say a word as he replaced the stitches.

"Hatter?"

"What?"

"What happened?" I stared at the ceiling. "I don't remember anything."

"Oh, well, uh, everyone got out of the casino fine. Before it crumbled to the ground. Then Alice got the ring back by threatening to cut off the Queen's finger. It's funny though, no one listened to the

Queen anyway. Not even the suits."

"Oh."

"Done." He had placed a new bandage on my stomach and helped me to sit up. "Just don't strain yourself."

"What is Alice going to do now?" Hatter froze.

"She's…she's going back." I stood up from the bed and swayed a little; I grabbed onto Hatter for support. It was then I noticed he wasn't wearing his leather jacket like he usually was. Instead, it was

just the shirt with the weird pattern, but it was unbuttoned more than usual; and the tie he had kept loose around his neck was just hanging there.

"You could go with her, you know. Back to her world." He turned his head to look at me.

"We have to go. She's leaving soon…"

We walked into the Looking Glass Hall to see two dozen oysters waiting to return home. Alice was there to, hugging Jack. Hatter froze once again. He had done that a lot on the way here. He turned

around to walk back out the door but I stopped him.

"You're not backing out. You have to see her off."

"But I don't want to. Look, she's already chosen Jack. It's over. I'm done." He tried to push past me.

"Hatter." I stomped my foot on the ground and pointed at Alice. "March your ass over there and see her off before I burn up every hat you own!" His eyes widened.

"You wouldn't…" I leaned up to stare him in the eye.

"Watch me." He turned around, just as Alice called his name. I stood in the back and watched; glad I couldn't hear their conversation. Jack came and stood next to me, Duchess at his side.

"Are you sure you want to let him go?" Jack asked me.

"No. I'm not sure." I replied. "But when you love someone you have to think about what is best for them, not for you."

"What are you going to do?" I sighed.

"I'm not sure…Did you know I was adopted?" I looked up at Jack. "Yeah, apparently, I really am an oyster…but the Queen really wanted a daughter and stole me away when I was just four. The

memories I have of my 'oyster family' are fake. I do have one, a family that is, but nothing I remember about them is true."

"How'd you find this out?"

"The King told me."

"Ah." It was then that Hatter walked up to me and nodded to Jack, who left.

"Well, what are we going to do now?"

"We?" I looked at him.

"Yes, we."

"No. There is no we anymore, Hatter. It's just you." I smiled. "Go after her. I'll be fine." He turned and ran halfway to the Looking Glass before he looked back at me. Even from that distance I could see

the conflict in his eyes.

_**What the hell am I supposed to do? **_**There was this feeling inside me, one that I knew for sure was for Anya, that I almost thought was love; and then there came longing. I wanted to be with **

**Alice, but for her I had to give up everything: Wonderland, my tea shop, and Anya. I could see the tears filling up her eyes as Anya called to me to go on. It tore my heart. She'd been with me **

**through a whole hell of a lot…I turned around before I could change my mind and jumped through the Looking Glass. **

I wandered around through Wonderland, not going anywhere in particular.

_I'm not quite sure how to breathe,_

_Without you here…_

I found myself in front of Hatter's tea shop. The outside was beaten: the windows were broken; glass covering the ground below, and the door was falling off the hinges. I took a deep breath and

walked in.

_I'm not quite sure if I'm ready _

_To say goodbye, to all we were…_

The place was trashed. Tables and chairs were thrown every which way and broken, Dormouse's podium was smashed, the board that advertized the teas that were available was falling off the wall,

and smashed in various places.

_Be with me,_

_Stay with me,_

_Just for now._

_Let time decide when I won't need you._

I walked into Hatter's office. Anything that had been glass was now smashed into tiny pieces on the grass. Hatter's grass…was no longer green. It was burnt to nothing.

_Can I feel anymore…?_

_Lie to me,_

_I'm fading,_

_I can't drop you, _

_Tell me I don't need you…_

How would I be able to survive without Hatter? _I don't think he will even be thinking of me…_

_Etch this into my brain for me,_

_Tell me how it's supposed to be,_

_Where everything will go,_

_And how I'll be without you by my side…_

I walked over to where his desk used to be and picked up one of the hats on the ground. It made me smile, thinking of the hat he had been wearing when he left. The hat I held was burnt in some

places, and ash covered it. I wiped it off, and ran my fingers around the brim.

_My hand searches for your hand,_

_In a dark room…_

_I can't find you…_

_Help me…_

_Are you looking for me?..._

"Anya." I looked over my shoulder to see Jack standing there.

"Yes?"

"I found them. It's time to go."

The door I stood in front of was plain. White, like the ones on every other house on this street. Jack had told me that I had been on the missing persons list ever since I had gone missing. That my

parents had never given up hope that I might find them one day. _I wonder if they'll know who I am._ I knocked on the door. It had been so many years; it was highly unlikely that they would-

"Hello?" I looked up. A woman was standing there. Her blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun, the gray hairs visible. Her eyes were worn and old, with crow's feet at the edges, but were still bright

green. A man walked up behind her, she was quite a bit shorter than him; he was my height.

"Honey, who is this?"

"I don't know. What is your name, sweetheart?"

"A-Anya." I could barely get my nickname out. "I mean, uh, Anastasia. Anastasia Maria." The woman's eyes widened.

"Could it be?" She looked up at her husband. "How long has it been…since she was four?"

"Fourteen years. How old are you, Anastasia?" I could feel the tears well up in my eyes.

"Eighteen." They invited me into their house and told me everything they knew about their daughter. I smiled and told them what had happened to me, hoping they would believe me. Once I had

finished my story, they both thought I was crazy for a moment, but after explaining it again, they believed me. I couldn't believe it. This was all too good to be true; but after being in Wonderland my

whole life, I came to believe that nothing was impossible.

-Three Months Later-

"Anya?"

"Yeah, mom?" I had gotten used to calling her mom, every time I would say it, it would make me feel warm inside. I hopped down the stairs to meet her in the living room. There was a woman sitting

next to my mother on the couch, my father hiding behind his newspaper.

"Honey, this is Carroll. She's invited us over for dinner tonight. You'll get to meet her daughter, and her daughter's boyfriend." _Yippee…another thing to remind me of Hatter…_

"You should really wear something nicer…"

"What?" I looked down at my outfit: skinny jeans, and a blue tank top with a black one underneath and tennis shoes. "I look fine. Can we go?" The car ride wasn't that long, apparently Carroll lived

close. I shoved my thumbs in my pocket as my mom rang the doorbell.

"Oh good, you made it!" Carroll said, a huge smile on her face. "Alice! You and David come and greet our guests!" I turned around and stared at the view from the window.

"Anya. This is my daughter, Alice, and her boyfriend, David." I sighed and turned around to look at them. _The last thing I need is another lovey-dovey couple who won't stop-_ I stopped mid-thought and

froze.


	11. Goodbye, David

The brown eyes and messy brown hair that I had longed to see ever since Alice left was now staring me in the face once more.

"Are you freaking kidding me!?" Hatter blinked at me.

"Anya? What are you doing here?" I ran out of there before anyone could say anything. I couldn't believe it, after everything that had happened I never thought I would see Hatter in this world;

especially with Alice.

"Anya!" he had followed me. His hand grabbed my wrist and stopped me from running any further. We were on the street, the other people shooting us weird looks as they passed. "Are you going to

look at me?" I turned around. His hair was different. There was no hat atop his head and his hair was combed instead of the cute mess it had been.

"What happened to you?" I asked, pulling my arm away from him.

"Nothing…"

"You look like an oyster."

"So do you!"

"I am one!" I yelled. I took a deep breath. "Go with your precious Alice, Hatter. Tell my parents I've gone home."

**I never expected Anya to come to this world. When she turned from the window and her green eyes found mine, all the feelings I had for her came rushing back. When she ran, I didn't know **

**what possessed me, but I ran after her.  
**

**"Go with your precious Alice, Hatter." Even sitting at the table with my Alice, staring at the plate of food, mindlessly swirling it around with my fork, her words still rang through my head. **

_**Why…why didn't she stay in Wonderland? **_**I looked up at her parents. Anya looked exactly like her mother: the blonde hair and bright green eyes. Yet her height she obviously inherited from **

**her father. Her father was sitting right across from me; and kept shooting me weird looks. Alice was looking at me weird too.**

_**What was that all about? **_**She mouthed to me. I shrugged; I honestly didn't know myself. Before our guests left, I begged her mother for Anya's number; I had to talk to her. She reluctantly **

**gave it to me, asking how I knew her daughter.  
**

**"Did she tell you about Wonderland?" I asked, a smile on my face. Anya's mom nodded. "I'm Hatter." Her mom gave me a surprised look, and then punched me on the shoulder. "Ow! What was **

**that for?" **

"**For what you did to my daughter!" She said as she followed her husband out the door. **

I usually never answer calls with an unknown number, but today was different somehow. I was sitting in my room, a book in my hands. It was a strange book, _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, it had

nothing to do with the Alice I had met or the Wonderland I had known. _How odd…_ I had these things called headphones in my ears, they played a thing called music that was all stored on this small

rectangular thing called an iPod. Most of this was still very new to me…The song that I was playing had a great rock beat that made me want to dance. I would've been dancing around if I was so

engrossed in the absurd book. It was then that my phone rang, with an unknown number that I had actually answered.

"Anya?" Even over the phone I could recognize the voice.

"What do you want, Hatter?"

"I want to know why you're in this world…I thought you had stayed in Wonderland." I really wasn't in the mood to have this conversation, but I knew it had to happen one day.

"Jack found my family. My real family. So I came to live with them. Is that a problem? Am I intruding on your amazing relationship with your precious Alice?" I admit, that sentence had come out a lot

nastier than I had intended, but what could I do? I was still pissed that he had left me in Wonderland.

"No, Anya…of course it isn't a problem. I'm glad you're here…I've missed you."

"Don't lie, Hatty, you're just saying that to try and get me to not be mad at you."

"No, I'm serious. I've thought so many times about going back to Wonderland just to see you. How could I ever survive without my best friend?"

"You've been doing pretty well for three months. You didn't even know I was here." I heard him sigh.

"Look, Anya, can we meet somewhere? I need to see you again and talk, face to face, not over this absurd telephone thing."

"Fine. Where?" He gave me some place that was right down the street. I shrugged on my jacket and walked over there. It was a small little café on the corner that was shoved between two huge

buildings. _Of course he would choose this place…_

**I had no idea what I was going to say to her. Of course I had missed Anya, how could I not? I walked into the little coffee shop to see her sitting there, a huge smile on her face, and flirting with **

**a waiter. I growled to myself and walked over there, sitting down in the chair opposite her. The waiter glared at me, which I returned with a smirk. **

"**You've changed." Was the first thing that came out of her mouth once she had turned in her seat to face me.  
**

**"Have not." I said.  
**

**"Have to." She replied. "Where's your hat?" My hand went to my head to pat down my hair. I had gotten used to not wearing a hat in this world.  
**

**"At home…somewhere." She laughed.  
**

**"I should've known…of course you don't know where your own 'precious' hat was." We talked for a couple hours, about anything and everything, but both of us always avoiding the one topic **

**we had to talk about. **

"**Hatter." I looked up at her. Her fingers were lingering on the side of her cup of tea and she was staring down at its contents. "Why did you ask me to come here?" I paused for a moment.  
**

**"We needed to talk. Anya, I know I've said and done a lot of things, that I've hurt you…"**

"But you have to know that you are my best friend. You've been with me through so much, you've stopped me from doing so many crazy things that could possibly kill me, I would have never gotten

this far if it wasn't for you." Hatter leaned back in his chair. "I can't even imagine my life if you never showed up in it. I love you, Anya, I really do, and more than you could ever imagine." He had caught

me off guard and I was at a loss for words. I grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair and walked out of the café, wondering if he would follow me or not. To my surprise, he did.

"Anya!" I rolled my eyes and turned around. The small drizzle of rain that had begun right as I left the café had now turned into real pouring rain. The thin jacket I had on was soaking wet and wasn't

really helping to keep me warm.

"I didn't expect you to come after me."

"Did you not hear what I said in there?" he asked, looking down at me.

"What do you want me to say, Hatter? Do you want me to tell you that you've been my best friend since forever. Did you want me to say that you were the reason I had gotten up in the morning? Did

you want me to admit that I've wanted to find you in this world? Or that I've cried myself to sleep countless nights thinking of everything you've done to me since Alice showed up?" I could see the

surprise in his face, like he wasn't expecting this answer. "You don't love me, Hatter. Not like you love her. I'll never compare."

"Anya…" His hands went to my shoulders, and he squeezed them slightly. "You've always been enough for me, but Alice…there's just something in her that draws me in…" _Great…thanks for making me _

_feel worse…_ This whole entire thing was dragging out way too long and was getting way to dramatic for my liking.

"Hatter, I want you to do something for me." I said, smiling up at him. "I want you to go home to Alice, make you both some tea, forget about me and move on with your life. I don't want you to think

about me ever again. If you see me anywhere around town, don't talk to me, just keep walking. Forget everything about me, everything that happened or that ever could be." I turned around,

shivering from the rain.

"Goodbye, David."

* * *

**The end ._. Maybe, who knows :] I'm planning on reading the original Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass, so I might {Which means I probably will} write a sequel :D Cause, knowing me in the only way a person can know themselves, I can never leave anything alone! There is never a true ending for me :] If I say there is, I probably wrote something else to go along with, I just don't have a full story. Anyway, I love you, all my lovely reviewers -heart- and watch for the next part in the Anya/Hatter/Alice love triangle :] **


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